1. Goal of Knowledge & Cultural Understanding
1.1. Historical Literacy
1.1.1. 12.3.3 Discuss the historical role of religion and religious diversity.
1.1.2. 12.6.1 Analyze the origin, development, and role of political parties, noting those occasional periods in which there was only one major party or were more than two major parties.
1.1.3. 12.6.2 Discuss the history of the nomination process for presidential candi dates and the increasing importance of primaries in general elections.
1.2. Ethical Literacy
1.2.1. 12.1.3 Explain how the U.S. Constitution reflects a balance between the classical republican concern with promotion of the public good and the classical liberal concern with protecting individual rights; and discuss how the basic premises of liberal constitutionalism and democracy are joined in the Declaration of Independence as “self- evident truths.”
1.2.2. 12.5.4 Explain the controversies that have resulted over changing interpreta tions of civil rights, including those in Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education, Miranda v. Arizona, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena, and United States v. Virginia (VMI).
1.2.3. 12.10 Students formulate questions about and defend their analyses of tensions within our constitutional democracy and the importance of maintaining a balance between the following concepts: majority rule and individual rights; liberty and equality; state and national authority in a federal system; civil disobedience and the rule of law; freedom of the press and the right to a fair trial; the relationship of religion and government.
1.3. Cultural Literacy
1.3.1. 12.2.6 Explain how one becomes a citizen of the United States, including the process of naturalization (e.g., literacy, language, and other requirements).
1.3.2. 12.9.7 Describe the ideologies that give rise to Communism, methods of maintaining control, and the movements to overthrow such govern ments in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland, including the roles of individuals (e.g., Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Pope John Paul II, Lech Walesa, Vaclav Havel).
1.3.3. 12.9.8 Identify the successes of relatively new democracies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the ideas, leaders, and general societal condi tions that have launched and sustained, or failed to sustain, them.
1.4. Geographic Literacy
1.4.1. 12.6.6 Analyze trends in voter turnout; the causes and effects of reapportion ment and redistricting, with special attention to spatial districting and the rights of minorities; and the function of the Electoral College.
1.4.2. 12.9.4 Describe for at least two countries the consequences of conditions that gave rise to tyrannies during certain periods (e.g., Italy, Japan, Haiti, Nigeria, Cambodia).
1.4.3. 12.9.5 Identify the forms of illegitimate power that twentieth-century African, Asian, and Latin American dictators used to gain and hold office and the conditions and interests that supported them.
1.5. Sociopolitical Literacy
1.5.1. 12.5.1 Understand the changing interpretations of the Bill of Rights over time, including interpretations of the basic freedoms (religion, speech, press, petition, and assembly) articulated in the First Amendment and the due process and equal-protection-of-the-law clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.
1.5.2. 12.3.1 Explain how civil society provides opportunities for individuals to associate for social, cultural, religious, economic, and political purposes.
1.5.3. 12.3.2 Explain how civil society makes it possible for people, individually or in association with others, to bring their influence to bear on govern ment in ways other than voting and elections.
1.6. Economic Literacy
1.6.1. 12.7.2 Identify the major responsibilities and sources of revenue for state and local governments.
1.6.2. 12.2.2 Explain how economic rights are secured and their importance to the individual and to society (e.g., the right to acquire, use, transfer, and dispose of property; right to choose one’s work; right to join or not join labor unions; copyright and patent).
1.6.3. 12.2.3 Discuss the individual’s legal obligations to obey the law, serve as a juror, and pay taxes.
2. Goal of Democratic Understanding & Civic Values
2.1. National Identity
2.1.1. 12.2.6 Explain how one becomes a citizen of the United States, including the process of naturalization (e.g., literacy, language, and other requirements).
2.1.2. 12.2.5 Describe the reciprocity between rights and obligations; that is, why enjoyment of one’s rights entails respect for the rights of others.
2.1.3. 12.2.4 Understand the obligations of civic-mindedness, including voting, being informed on civic issues, volunteering and performing public service, and serving in the military or alternative service.
2.2. Constitutional Heritage
2.2.1. 12.1.1 Analyze the influence of ancient Greek, Roman, English, and leading European political thinkers such as John Locke, Charles-Louis Montesquieu, Niccolò Machiavelli, and William Blackstone on the development of American government.
2.2.2. 12.1.4 Explain how the Founding Fathers’ realistic view of human nature led directly to the establishment of a constitutional system that limited the power of the governors and the governed as articulated in the Federalist Papers.
2.2.3. 12.1.2 Discuss the character of American democracy and its promise and perils as articulated by Alexis de Tocqueville.
2.3. Civic Values, Rights, & Responsibilities
2.3.1. 12.2.1 Discuss the meaning and importance of each of the rights guaranteed under the Bill of Rights and how each is secured (e.g., freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, petition, privacy).
2.3.2. 12.2.3 Discuss the individual’s legal obligations to obey the law, serve as a juror, and pay taxes.
2.3.3. 12.2.4 Understand the obligations of civic-mindedness, including voting, being informed on civic issues, volunteering and performing public service, and serving in the military or alternative service.
3. Goal of Skills Attainment & Social Participation
3.1. Critical Thinking Skills
3.1.1. CCSS.ELA-Reading 1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.
3.1.2. CCSS.ELA-Writing 1b: Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most relevant data and evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both claim(s) and counterclaims in a discipline-appropriate form that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level, concerns, values, and possible biases.
3.1.3. CCSS.ELA-Reading 4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including analyzing how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10).
3.2. Participation Skills
3.2.1. *CCSS.ELA-Reading 7: ntegrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.
3.2.2. *CCSS.ELA-Writing 6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.
3.2.3. *CCSS.ELA - Writing 8: Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the specific task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.
3.2.4. * Can be used in conduction with others to meet participation skills.
3.3. Basic Study Skills
3.3.1. CCSS.ELA-Reading 10:By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 11-12 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
3.3.2. CCSS.ELA-Writing 5:Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
3.3.3. CCSS.ELA-Writing 10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.